The digital alarm communicator transmitter is unlikely to disappear overnight. However, it
may change to a point that lesser-quality control panels may not work reliably. Customer
contracts should state that the communications media used is not under the dealer’s control.
New Paths to Service Opportunities
As discussed, POTS will transition to a combination of wired and VoIP technology. MFVN currently available from many carriers also uses VoIP.
Another possible communications solution is the use of IP on the public Internet. Certainly the bandwidth is there to run new services beyond standard burglar alarm and fire alarm monitoring. Energy management, medical services using third-party entities, video from the premises to the central station or to customer's smart phones are but a few of the imagined added services affordably possible over the Internet. The future, then, is everything over IP or EoIP.
While the Internet itself is rather robust, many feel that the reliability and availability of the "last mile" connection to the premises provided by ISPs is not equivalent to yesterday's POTS. Indeed, broadband is taken down for maintenance and software upgrades by the ISPs, which can cause unpredictable interruptions in service requiring GSM backup.
The effect of the net neutrality ruling may also adversely affect the multiple uses of broadband, limiting certain services such as video.
Standards Are Being Developed
Usually standards lag behind technology. This has certainly been true of the alarm industry. However, an IP standard (ANSI/SIA DC-09-2007 - SIA DCS - Internet Protocol Event Reporting) has been written and approved for some time now, waiting for the expected transition to IP as the dominant communications technology.
The transition to IP, although slow in coming, will eventually happen. In the short term, due to the perceived and often observed unreliability of IP as a sole means of transmission, a backup service is often required. Time will see a hardening of broadband, both wired and wireless, as it grows and even becomes regulated. The present federal broadband initiative may very well hasten the maturity of the Internet. UL and NFPA standards have already included IP as allowable transmission means.
A limiting factor of the use of IP to date has been the limitations on the number of accounts an IP receiver can process. Revisions currently in draft form to both UL 1981 and UL 827 should allow for software-based receivers to be loaded on servers in the central station environment to enable far greater use of IP. These new standards should be released later this year.
Strategies to Stay Ahead of Curve
Having laid out the issues, what does a dealer do to maintain his/her business? The choices are not as bad as they may seem. But the dealer must remain vigilant to changes occurring in his/her environment.
First of all, the most pervasive technology, the DACT, will probably not disappear overnight and may not for many years to come. However, it may change to a point that lesser-quality control panels may not work reliably. A dealer's contract with a customer should reflect the fact that the communications media utilized is not under the control of the dealer.
As telephone companies use more and more VoIP to move voice traffic across their networks, the tone traffic that DACTs use will need to be more compliant to known standards. The responsibility, then, falls to manufacturers to make sure their products work in this new environment and to dealers to purchase complaint equipment.
Unfortunately, older equipment may need to be changed out if communications problems using POTS are frequently incurred. This begs the question: Is a new standard or updated standard required to certify equipment in this environment, similar to SIA CP-01 certification or to appropriate UL standards?
A larger issue is the use of GSM cellular radios. Millions have been installed and millions will probably be installed until the reality sets in that they may not work as well as they did originally. Eventually they will not work at all. These will need to be changed out to 4G devices.
Having stated that, dealers should be financially and contractually prepared to accomplish this change and should prepare their customers to this eventuality. It is safe to assume this process will not end with 4G. In other words, the industry should well expect similar occurrences in three to five year intervals. As everyone upgrades their cell phones and smart phones, it may be required that these backup devices be changed in a similar timeframe.
What You Can Expect Next
Change is inevitable. To be able to handle change is the difference between success and failure. The DACT has been the transmission of choice for approximately 30 years, followed shortly behind by the use of cellular technology. Both are now in transition. The wary dealer should closely monitor changes as they unfold, change his/her financial models accordingly and work with the manufacturers that are sensitive to these changes.
A safe prediction is that IP over the Internet, both wired and wireless, will be the technology of the future for the transmissions of alarm signals. The DACT of today will be eclipsed by an IP communicator. Broader wired and wireless "pipes" into a home or business will afford ample bandwidth to security systems for virtually any application we can consider. But until the use the Internet fully matures, the industry will need to develop and utilize strategies to cope with a less than perfect world, and like that swift-flowing river, go with the flow.
SSI Hall of Famer Louis T. Fiore has spent more than 35 years in the security and electronics industries. He is a past president of the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA), current chairman of the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) and has participated in standards-setting with organizations such as UL, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) an the Security Industry Association (SIA). Fiore is currently an industry consultant and can be reached at (973) 726-8300 or [email protected].